Willard Chabot Frank, Jr. was an emeritus professor of History at Old Dominion University (formerly known as Old Dominion College). He began teaching in 1963 and although he retired in 2004, he continued to teach until his death in 2011. Alongside his teaching career with Old Dominion University, Dr. Frank also taught at the Naval War College as an adjunct professor. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Brown University in 1957, his Master’s Degree in 1962 from the College of William and Mary in 1962, and his PhD from the University of Pittsburg in 1968. Frank was a member of the Unitarian Church of Norfolk from 1958 until his death in 2011, of which he researched and wrote about. Frank supported numerous local organizations, such as WHRO and the Young Audiences of Virginia, which is an organization that encourages retaining the arts in education. Frank participated in a grass roots opposition to the proposed marriage amendment in 2006 by going door-to-door and discussing the issue with Norfolk. Early in his career, Frank also participated in groups that supported the Anti-Vietnam prose of the period as well as those of an academic nature. His papers include newsletters from some of these organizations including, the New Left, and the Liberal Context, as well as information from the Academic Freedom and the Emerson forum. Frank focused his studies on naval warfare, specifically the Spanish Civil War. In the course of his career with Old Dominion University, Frank helped put together two important conferences in the late 1980s, the Soviet Naval Conference of 1987 and the Soviet Military Doctrine Conference of 1989.  Frank taught courses on naval history at both the Naval War College and at Old Dominion University, he was also involved in the creation of new certificates for both programs.

Note written by Andrea Schumacher